Home-Marinated Mushrooms

Marinated mushrooms are probably my favourite deli-bought snack food. When I was younger I would actually eat a whole jar for lunch. I have a little bit more control over my gluttonous urges these days, but I've been craving these things big-time lately. A small jar is usually around $4-5 dollars at the shops, which seems like a big rip-off so I thought I'd make my own. I found a few recipes online and took bits from them to create this recipe, based on ingredients I already had. (I think fresh parsley would have been a great addition, but unfortunately, I was out.) This jar needs to be refrigerated in a few weeks, so I will update then.

Ingredients:

• 300g button mushrooms
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tbsp dried mixed herbs
• a few fronds of fresh dill
• 1/2 tbsp whole black peppercorns
• 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp mustard powder
• 3/4 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed or finely diced

Pour all ingredients except the mushrooms in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil (the boil?). 

Once it starts boiling, turn the heat down and add the mushrooms. Stir with a spatula to coat all the mushrooms in the mixture. Cook on low for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

After 10 minutes or so, turn off the heat and transfer everything to a sterilised jar. Let cool and then put the jar in the fridge for a few weeks. Serve cold with crackers and vegan cheese and sundried tomatoes!

Oh, and don't forget to warn anyone you live with that you have mushrooms marinating in the fridge and not a science experiment!

Crazy Brussels Sprouts

So-called crazy because the ingredients basically consist of whatever stuff I had lying around that needed using up. The combination of flavours may not sound like they would work together, but they totally do! Apologies for the shocking picture quality on this post - I think I accidentally set the ISO too high without realising...

Ingredients:

• 2 handfuls of Brussels sprouts, washed and halved
• 1/2 large red chili
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup coriander leaves
• 1/2 cup parsley leaves
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 a lemon's juice
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground pepper

Chuck the chili, garlic, parsley and coriander into a food processor. Blend until all finely chopped. Whilst the speed is on low, pour in the olive oil and lemon juice. Scrape the sides with a spatula then add salt and pepper and pulse a few times until you reach your desired consistency - not pureed, but all blended.

Pour the oil/herb mixture over the B-sprouts in a bowl and mix with the spatula until all coated in oil.

Transfer to a baking sheet and roast until nice and crispy. You may need to remove the tray about 10 minutes in, just to make sure the oil is still evenly distributed and/or turn the sprouts over.

Remove from the oven and serve hot! Also works with mushrooms:

Homemade Tofu-Mushroom Burger That Actually Tastes Good

Though I've been vegan for about 12 years, I have never attempted to make a veggie burger at home. I have no idea why. I also don't know why the mood suddenly struck to try it out. (It might have something to do with my new food processor making it easier to make almost everything!) This burger actually turned out very well, without much trial and error at all. It is also (aside from the frying) quite healthy. My bf even said he liked this better than any store-bought version!

The first batch I made was without the egg replacer as a binder and the burgers did not stay together all that well. (To be honest, they fell apart all over the place!) The egg replacer worked well as a binder, but you could probably use other alternatives (ground flaxseed, etc.) as well. Makes about 6-8 burgers.


Ingredients:

• 225g medium-soft tofu 
• 3 med-large portobello mushrooms, sliced
• 3 stalks spring onion, sliced
• 2 medium cloves of garlic
• 1/2 carrot, shredded
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs plus extra as needed
• egg replacer equivalent to 2 eggs
• 2 drops liquid smoke
• splash of balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp pine nuts or sesame seeds
• 1 tsp dried vegetable stock
• 1 tsp mixed dried herbs

Combine the tofu, mushrooms, garlic and olive oil in a food processor. Blend until mixed well and ingredients are well combined.  Add liquid smoke, herbs, vinegar, veggie stock and breadcrumbs and mix with a spoon or spatula until well combined. Add egg replacer and stir again until combined. Fold in shredded carrot, sliced spring onion, and sesame seeds. If the mixture seems too wet at this point, add more breadcrumbs.

Allow the mix to cool in the fridge for about 30 minutes or so.

Using breadcrumbs so the mixture doesn't stick to your fingers, roll out balls about two inches in diameter, then flatten to form a patty. Fry with some vegetable oil and serve on a bun with a side of pickles. Some toppings I have tried with this burger:

• a sauce mixture of vegan mayo, dijon mustard and horseradish
• homemade tomato relish
• homemade beetroot relish
• avocado
• caramelised onions
• tomato from my garden
• spinach

Creamy Mushroom Asparagus Pasta

This recipe turned out a lot better than I thought it would. I used the leftover cream from the fridge, and it worked much better in this dish! This sauce is also simple and fairly quick to make.

Ingredients:

• 5 medium portobello mushrooms, sliced
• 1 bunch of asparagus
• 1/2 cup vegan cream
• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 1/2 cup veggie stock
• 2 tbsp sour cream
• 1.5 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/2 tbsp canola oil
• 1/2 tbsp Nuttelex 
• 2 medium cloves garlic, minced
• 4 tsp lemon juice (divided into two lots)
• salt
• pepper
• 1/2 pack of the long pasta of your choice (I used spaghetti but linguini probably would have been better)

First, get your pasta on to boil. If you're using a long pasta, remember to stir it with a fork as frequently as you can so it doesn't stick together while cooking.

Now, cut the ends off of the washed asparagus and then cut the stalks into five sections. Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the asparagus pieces for about 5 minutes on med-high heat, adding a pinch of salt, a pinch of pepper and half of your lemon juice. Remove from heat and set aside.

Next, heat the Nuttelex in the pan and add the garlic. Before the garlic turns brown, add the mushrooms and cream. As the cream melts, stir it to distribute it around the pan. Add half of your soy milk, the sour cream and the stock. Slide your mushrooms to the outside of the pan and add your cornstarch to the centre, stirring into the liquid until it is dissolved.

Add the rest of your soy milk and some salt and pepper. The sauce will start to thicken, though it may seem quite soupy at this point! Add the asparagus and the rest of your lemon juice and cook until the sauce has the perfect amount of sauciness - not too soupy and not too thick. (You can always add more stock or lemon juice as necessary.)

Your pasta should be cooked by now, so drain it and pour it into the pan with the sauce. Fold until combined and served with fresh pepper and maybe some Murray River salt flakes.

Hungarian Mushroom Soup

I have my mother's recipe for this soup stored in my computer. It says this:

1 box of mushrooms

water equal to = 2/3 to 1/3 mushrooms

parsley

vegeta

put all in pot, cook for 30 min after boil

little bit of soy milk

when it's boiling again, add noodles

make the roux

add it, obviously

add a 2-3 tbsp. of sour cream and cook until dissolved

Up until right now, every time I have made this soup I have needed to do some deciphering. This time I actually called my mother to ask her how many mushrooms a "box of mushrooms" constitutes. So, here is my translated recipe:

Ingredients (to serve six):

• 400g button mushrooms
• 2 tbsp of Vegeta (or your preferred veggie stock)
• half a bunch of parsley, washed, with the ends cut off (keep as much of the stem as you can!)
• a pot of water, filled about 3/4 of the way up to the top
• 4 tbsp soy milk
• 1 heaping tbsp all-purpose white flour
• 1 heaping tbsp Hungarian paprika
• 2-3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup orzo pasta
• some white vinegar

Slice the mushrooms and put into the pot. Cover with water abut 3/4 of the way up to the top of the pot. Add parsley and Vegeta. Bring to the boil then cook for about 30 minutes.

Add the soy milk and pasta and start on your roux.

This is the most complicated part of the dish. There are a million ways to make roux, but this is the way my Hun relatives have always made it. It is best to cook it quickly on high heat, but it cooks fast and is easy to burn, so it's okay to put it on medium heat if you've not made it before.

The roux:

Pour the vegetable oil into a small, shallow saucepan, so that the oil covers the whole bottom of the pan. Once the oil is hot, add the flour. Stirring constantly, wait until the flour starts to turn a golden brown then add the paprika. Keep stirring! Stir stir stir for about two minutes so it is a deep red/brown and then pour into the soup pot. Scoop up some of the soup water into the saucepan, swirl around to get as much of the roux out as possible, and then pour back into the soup pot.

 

Cook the soup for about ten more minutes until the pasta is cooked then add the sour cream and stir slowly until it has dissolved. Fish out the big pieces of parsley and discard them.

Serve each bowl with another teaspoon of sour cream on top and about 1/2 teaspoon of white vinegar. (PS - there is no picture of this soup because I don't have a pretty enough bowl to make it look attractive enough...it tastes yum, but is kind of ugly...)

Addictive Breaded Mushrooms with Horseradish Sauce

A couple of weeks ago, at around seven in the morning, I received a text message from my auntie (who lives in the US) that went something like this: "OMG I just made vegan fried portobellos! Fattening but incredible, SOO GOOD! Call me for the recipe!" And call her I did. Now I am addicted! The good thing about this recipe is that it is oh-so-simple, customisable and SOO SOO GOOD!

       Ingredients for the mushrooms:

• Your choice of mushrooms, as many as you can eat in one sitting (you should eat them straight after cooking)
• Oil for frying
• Plain flour
• Breadcrumbs (I get mine for $1.80 a bag from La Panella)
• Egg Replacer (I use Orgran's No Egg)
• Salt / pepper / onion powder / nutritional yeast / garlic salt to taste

       Ingredients for the sauce:

• 1/2 cup mayo (I use Kingland brand)
• 1 1/2 tbsp of prepared horseradish
• 3/4 tbsp of dijon mustard
• salt and white pepper

First, make the sauce by mixing all the ingredients together and adjust to suit your taste. Set aside in the fridge.

Next, set up three bowls - one with about a cup of flour, or enough to coat your mushrooms, and the second with about double the amount of breadcrumbs. (Salt, pepper, nutritional yeast, onion or garlic powder can be added to the breadcrumbs to give the breading extra flavour.) Mix up a few eggs' worth of egg replacer and put that in a small bowl or cup, deep enough to fully submerge the mushrooms.

For the mushrooms - if you used the cheapo white mushrooms, they can be kept whole or quartered, depending on how big they are. Portobellos or Swiss Browns should be sliced about 1/2" thick.

To bread the mushrooms:

1.) Fully submerge mushroom in egg replacer
2.) Transfer to flour bowl and coat in flour
3.) Submerge mushroom again in egg replacer
4.) Transfer mushrooms to breadcrumbs, cover in breadcrumbs and press them into the mushroom.
5.) Move breaded mushroom to a plate, ready for frying

Bread all of your mushrooms, then heat up your oil. You can deep fry, or, if you're short on oil, shallow-fry. (I shallow-fry 'cos I'm cheap!) Fry the mushrooms until they are a crisp
golden-brown and fish them out with a fork or slotted spoon. The mushrooms should then be transferred to a plate lined with paper towel, to mop up excess oil. Sprinkle with garlic salt if you have some, otherwise just some salt flakes.)

Serve with the sauce and eat straight away!